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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22802845">safe and sound.</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/seekrest/pseuds/seekrest'>seekrest</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>febuwhump 2020. [19]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Domestic Fluff, Existential Angst, F/M, Fluff, Found Family, Michelle Jones Has a Family, Michelle Jones Needs a Hug, Motherhood, Protective May Parker (Spider-Man), Protective Pepper Potts</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 08:22:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,757</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22802845</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/seekrest/pseuds/seekrest</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Michelle awkwardly taps her fingers against her belly, feeling anxious as she tries to take deep breaths - remembering what her obgyn had said at her last appointment.</p><p> </p><p>  <i>Take it easy. Take it slow. </i></p><p> </p><p>Michelle had thought that was easier said than done, groaning slightly as she tried to adjust herself in her chair - the light chatter of the people around her not helping either.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Michelle Jones &amp; May Parker (Spider-Man), Michelle Jones &amp; Pepper Potts, Michelle Jones/Peter Parker</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>febuwhump 2020. [19]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1619581</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>180</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>safe and sound.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/momentofmemory/gifts">momentofmemory</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Today was creator’s choice and this is a fic I’ve been wanting to write for a good minute!! </p><p>To momentofmemory who loves May Parker as much as I do &lt;3</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Michelle awkwardly taps her fingers against her belly, feeling anxious as she tries to take deep breaths - remembering what her obgyn had said at her last appointment.P</p><p>
  <em> Take it easy. Take it slow. </em>
</p><p>Michelle had thought that was easier said than done, groaning slightly as she tried to adjust herself in her chair - the light chatter of the people around her not helping either. </p><p>There wasn’t anyone there that she didn’t want to be, one of the few times she’d ever put her foot down from her mother’s meddling. </p><p>It didn’t make sense in one perspective, how much she was trying to ingratiate herself into Michelle’s life - or more accurately, her <em> pregnancy </em> - than she had ever been before. </p><p>Michelle had done fine without her all these years, knowing that the neglect hadn’t ever been intentional so much as it was out of necessity - needing to spend all those hours working to help provide for them. </p><p>But in another sense, Michelle didn’t need the coddling now - the attention, the hyperactive worry and incessant texting to see if she was okay - the kind of care that she might’ve appreciated when she was in elementary school or maybe even junior high but certainly didn’t need now, not at almost thirty. </p><p>She could hear her mother’s voice in the other room, talking to Tony about some kind of diaper machine that she’d undoubtedly seen on the internet - being thankful that for all the people that her mother could’ve cornered, she had seemingly chosen the one person who was capable of distracting her long enough for Michelle to catch her breath. </p><p>“You doing okay?” </p><p>Michelle turns her head to see May’s gentle smile, smiling back at her as she nods. “Yeah, I’m fine.” Michelle taps absentmindedly on her stomach again, “Got a kicker today.” </p><p>May sharply inhales, immediately sitting on the couch beside her. “May I?” </p><p>Michelle nods, the usual rush of irritation that she feels when people reach for her stomach without asking being completely eliminated when May’s warm hand rested over her belly. </p><p>She watched as May gently placed her hand on her stomach before Michelle moved it to where it felt like the baby was currently pretending to use a snare drum, the smile on May’s face so bright that it just ignited something in Michelle - wishing in a cruel and impossible way that her mother hadn’t been invited if only for moments like this. </p><p>Michelle loved her mom, knew that she had done her best. </p><p>But May felt more like her mother in the way it mattered — had given her rides after field trips and had fed her dinner for years before her and Peter had ever gotten married. </p><p>May had been the one that she had relied on time and time again throughout college, when she was locked out of her dorm and couldn't find the RA - too frazzled to figure out what to do only to have May seemingly call out of nowhere, walking through her with the steps of what she needed to do.</p><p>May was the one she stayed with when Peter went overseas on missions with the Avengers, remembering one memorable fight when he'd left and Michelle had found herself on May's couch trying to hold herself together - realizing how awkward of a position she had put May in but realizing that of all the people in the world that she could talk to, May was really the only one who understood.</p><p>May was the first person to guess that she was pregnant after she'd told her about feeling like shit for weeks, going with her to a crappy bodega and sitting with her while they waited for the results  - knowing that for as special as this moment was for her and Peter that Michelle didn't want to get his hopes up if it wasn't real.</p><p>May was the one she trusted most in the world aside from Peter, the one she'd half-considered naming as her matron of honor for their wedding only to realize that she didn't want to deal with her mother's hurt feelings because of it.</p><p>Watching as May's smile seemed to grow even wider as she felt the baby's kicks, Michelle felt overwhelmed with the reality that for as much as she considered May a mother figure that she <em> wasn't </em> her mother - the harsh reality that Michelle was going to give birth in a few months to her own child.</p><p>In one sense, Michelle knew it was regular pre-baby nerves - the countless online message boards that she used to make fun and now obsessively looked over about becoming a parent causing her to question whether she was built for this anyway, considering how dismal of a job her own mother had done.</p><p>On the other, Michelle's own genetic predisposition was to put up walls - to refuse to let people in, a lesson she learned from her mother long before she had ever learned to speak.</p><p>"MJ?" May's voice brings her out of her thoughts, blinking a few times before looking to her.</p><p>"You sure you're okay?" May whispers, her hand moving away from her stomach - looking at her with the kind of concern that she'd come to know and appreciate - suddenly feeling a lump in her throat that she doesn't trust as she quickly nods.</p><p>"Yeah, just... just stressed you know?" She says, feeling her eyes begin to water as she tries to blink the traitorous tears away - knowing that if she caused a big fuss that Peter would be by her side in a heartbeat.</p><p>It was something that she'd talked about with him, in so many words - Peter sharing his own worries about what it meant to be a father, all cast in the light of Spider-Man.</p><p>When Michelle would think of that, her own worries seemed almost insignificant - almost regretting adding on to the overblown burden that Peter carried about the world around him, thinking that of all the people that he had to worry about - Michelle had made it her mission in life to not let him worry excessively over her.</p><p>May seems to see right through her eye as her eyebrows furrow, pressing her lips firmly together before saying, "Anything in particular you're stressed about? You need some air?"</p><p>Michelle quickly shakes her head, not wanting to cause a scene at the joint baby shower that Tony had insisted on throwing for them. "No, no I'm fine, I--"</p><p>"Let's get some air."</p><p>Michelle turns to see Pepper, the kind smile on her face making Michelle think that May approaching her hadn't been so random - watching the way Pepper's eyes travel from her face to May's.</p><p>It hits her then that May hadn’t been the only person she’d had in her life to serve as a maternal figure that she’d never really had before. </p><p>Pepper had always been kind, though how and why she ever stuck with Tony Stark for as long as she had - Michelle hadn’t known. </p><p>Then again, she thinks - her own marriage to a man who flung himself right into danger without any kind of provocation didn’t really give her a leg to stand on.</p><p>Pepper had been the one she laughed with over holidays, watching their husbands bicker over some of tech thing - glad that someone else understood the unique position they were in.</p><p>Pepper was the one who told her about how to enforce her rights as a working mother, even now - saying without Michelle having to bring it up that wanting to go back to work was just as valid as staying at home. </p><p>Pepper was the one who had held her hand when Peter had gotten so hurt that they’d rushed to the compound, waiting for May and Happy to arrive as the nerves threatened to overwhelm her.</p><p>Michelle shouldn’t be surprised that they were looking out for, considering both of them had done so in their own way for years. </p><p>Michelle thinks it over for a beat before nodding, letting May and Pepper help her up from the couch.</p><p>Peter is immediately by her side - appearing seemingly out of nowhere - his eyes wide and face expressive as he says, "Is everything--"</p><p>"Everything's fine, Pete." May is quick to answer, putting a hand to his shoulder as Pepper helps her to her feet. "Mama to be here just needs some air."</p><p>A small part of Michelle hopes that her mother sees her then, shows some kind of vague concern - even if another part of her doesn't want her to notice that she's making her way outside the cabin's living room.</p><p>Michelle's not sure if she's disappointed when her mother's laughter rings out from the kitchen, knowing she's too preoccupied with trying to impress Tony Stark than to notice her.</p><p>"MJ, are you sure--"</p><p>"I'm fine, Pete. Promise." Michelle lies, seeing that Peter doesn't believe her but also doesn't want to press it - knowing that the man that she's loved since she was sixteen recognized how little she cared for being the center of attention and that standing up in the middle of the living room gave her the exact sense of anxiety she'd spent a lifetime avoiding.</p><p>"Okay, I'll-- I'll be here okay." He says softly, kissing her gently on the cheek before letting her go - Pepper and May leading her out the door as she tries to calm the storm in her heart.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>"So. You mind telling us the truth now?" May starts, Michelle finally settled on the bench on the front porch of the cabin - leaning back on the couches as she tries to get comfortable.</p><p>"You need another one?" Pepper asks, holding a pillow in her hands as Michelle quickly shakes her head.</p><p>"No," she smirks, "Pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I won't be comfortable for the next few months. And that it won't even end after I give birth."</p><p>She turns to May. "Did you know that women have to wear <em> diapers </em> after they give birth? And that some have to actually sit on a fucking stuffed <em> donut </em> because their body is so messed up?"</p><p>Michelle laughs but there's no humor in it, bracing her hands on her stomach as she tries to shift again - her lower back aching as she says, "Why does anyone do this?"</p><p>Pepper and May both laugh, May putting her arm around Michelle as Pepper settles beside her.</p><p>"You know, Mary used to say the same thing." She says, Michelle turning to face her. "She never wanted kids, freaked out when she had Peter cause she took her birth control religiously."</p><p>"Peter was an <em> accident </em>?" Michelle asks incredulously, May laughing more as she nods.</p><p>"In so many words. The happiest of accidents." She gently nudges Michelle before saying, "But Mary loved being Peter's mom. It's funny, how that works sometimes."</p><p>"I felt the same way." Pepper says, Michelle turning her head to watch her face transform into a smile. "I never thought about having kids. I love Tony but..." She trails off but doesn't need to continue, both May and Michelle laughing at the implication of Tony Stark ever being a dad - a reality that Michelle wouldn't have believed had she not seen him and Peter, much less him and Morgan, interact with her own two eyes.</p><p>"I didn't have the best home life." Pepper says, Michelle saying nothing as she continues. "Worked my way through college, got into all the best schools, had all the best scholarships. I told myself that if I ever made it, I'd never let himself get tied down to a man or a child."</p><p>"But that changed?" May asks, Michelle absentmindedly running her hand over her own stomach.</p><p>"It did." Pepper says, looking thoughtfully out towards the lake. "I love Tony and Morgan, I love being a mother."</p><p>She turns to face Michelle again, feeling the lump in her throat back and stronger than ever as she says, "But that didn't mean I wasn't scared shitless."</p><p>Michelle searches her face for a beat before turning to May, giving an awkward smile. "Was it that obvious?"</p><p>"Only for someone who knows you, kiddo." May says, the smile on her face almost looking sad as she asks, “You wanna talk to us about what’s going on?”</p><p>“I know it sounds stupid--”</p><p>“Nothing that you’re feeling is stupid, Michelle.” Pepper says, feeling May’s warm embrace as Pepper continues. “If this is really what you’re feeling?” </p><p>Michelle bites her lip again, glancing down to her swollen stomach before nodding. “I know I’m worrying for nothing, I know it’ll be fine.”</p><p>Both Pepper and May are silent, giving her space to think - another thing she appreciates, knowing that if her mother were with her that she would try so hard to fill the awkward space between them with meaningless words and platitudes that Michelle had neither the time nor the inclination to hear. </p><p>“I just… don’t know how to do all of this, you know. I didn’t--” She cuts herself off, not wanting to completely throw her mother under the bus even if the fact that she was out here with Pepper and May and <em> not </em> her seemed to indicate the truth more than anything else. “There’s no book I can read about this, you know?”</p><p>Michelle smirks. “Not any worth reading anyway.” </p><p>Pepper and May both laugh again before May says, “You should know by now that <em> no one </em>ever knows what they’re doing.” Michelle smiles at her, May looking at her meaningfully. “Especially when it comes to parenting.”</p><p>“And,” Pepper says, Michelle glancing to her, “It doesn’t matter if you didn’t have the best,” she seems to search for the right words to say, a small smile on her face before saying, “<em> guide </em> as an example.”</p><p>Michelle tries to hold back her grimace, even in knowing that she doesn’t need to be embarrassed about her mother with May and Pepper as May speaks again. </p><p>“I know, I know it’s not just about that.” Michelle is quick to say, suddenly realizing how it must sound - that she didn’t consider May to be a mother figure to her over the years, as if Pepper hadn’t been anything but kind to her in the years they’ve known each other.</p><p>“You don’t have to explain.” Pepper’s words are gentle but firm. “May and I understand.” </p><p>“And we,” May whispers, her voice the port in the storm that it has been for half her life as she continues, “are right here with you. Every step of the way.”</p><p>“I know.” Michelle whispers back, only because she doesn’t trust herself in the moment - her hormones messing with her as they always did, feeling like she was on the verge of tears. </p><p>“It’s okay to be excited <em> and </em> terrified. To be looking forward to it <em> and </em>also wondering if you’re ready.” Pepper’s voice is still gentle, still quiet as she leans even closer. “You’re not in this alone.”</p><p>“I know I have Peter--”</p><p>“Peter’s great,” May says, “But <em> we’re </em> here for you too. Us moms gotta stick together.” </p><p>Michelle’s laugh is thick, the tears she’d tried to so hard to hold back coming down her face as she nods. </p><p>It’s quiet between the three of them then, Michelle letting their words and their wisdom settle over her as she gazes out over the lake.</p><p>May was right, she did have Peter - knowing he would not so subtly try to get her to talk to him about what she was feeling later, something she knew she would have to do sooner rather than later. </p><p>She knew she had a billionaire on her speed-dial, reminding herself that she’d have to thank him for entertaining her mother during her mini-breakdown. </p><p>But Michelle also knew now - in a way that gave her quiet confidence - that May - and Pepper - understood her even better than she had thought, could be with her in the very specific way that Peter, for as much as he loved her, couldn’t.</p><p>The words of her obgyn come back to her in that moment, taking in a deep breath as she braced her hands against her stomach - their baby boy kicking up a storm as she smiles. </p><p><em> Take it easy. Take it slow. </em> </p><p>Michelle wasn’t sure if she ever could take it easy, it wasn’t in her nature. </p><p>But maybe she could take it slow… resting in the knowledge that no matter how much she worried about the future, worried about her own mother’s failures and how it would influence her own parenting that it didn’t matter.</p><p>She wasn’t alone. </p>
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